Lingerie clasp



S. C. JOHNSON Sept. 24, 1935. V

LINGERIE CLASP Filed Jan. 29, 1934 INVENTOR. SAMUH C. JOHNSON r ITTORNEY Patented Sept. 24, 1935 PATENT OFFICE LINGERIE CLASP Samuel C. Johnson, Wolf Summit, W. Va., as-

signor to Flora E. Johnson, Wolf Summit,

W. Va.

Application January 29, 1934, Serial No. 708,787

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to ladies wearing apparel. More particularly the invention embodies the use of a novel lingerie clasp adapted for holding in place, singly or collectively, the shoulder straps of womens underwear such as teddies, slips and brassieres.

Usually for evening or dcollet wear, it is necessary to provide for the holding of only one strap on each shoulder, and since on such occasions the body is not subject to extreme movement and only a brassiere having a single strap is worn, a dainty clasp should be provided which is in keeping with the tiny straps employed, in order that the clasp will be as inconspicuous as possible.

Although the flexing of the body be slight on such occasions when compared to the more vigorous exercises such as tennis, golf or other sports indulged in by women, there should be some slight 20 freedom of the clothing in relation to the means whereby the clasp is fastened to the wearer at all times. When the clasp is attached to the outer clothing for the purpose of holding the strap of the underclothing in place, it is necessary when one piece of clothing moves, that the combined parts move in unison else a tear in the clothing may ensue.

The straps of slips and teddies need more freedom than the straps of brassiere garments, and in order to give ample freedom of movement to the torso whereby less movement of the clothing is necessary, I employ means for fastening the lingerie clasp direct to the skin of the wearer, while in combination with such holding means I employ a clasp loop of material which may be used over and over again, thru which the straps are detachably fastened thereby permitting the clasp to move in relation to that which is being held by the body yet maintaining the proper relation of that which is being held to the wearer.

Therefore the invention provides an improved clasp which may be made up for each occasion from a supply of material, such as a roll of adhesive tape which may be kept on hand. Also difierent characters of loops may be used, rigid or non-rigid, thus providing a variety of modes and tastes befitting the occasions on which different ensembles are worn.

Still another object of the invention resides in the simplicity and cheapness whereby the clasps may be manufactured and the ease with which they may be applied.

Many other objects will be apparent to the lady in waiting and to those to whom this device will be dedicated, especially when viewed in the light of the disclosure following and taken in conjunction with the drawing wherein are displayed the following figures:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a bust of a woman wearing a brassiere, the straps of which are being held in place by species of my novel invention shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred form of my invention.

Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective views of modified forms.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken thru the form illustrated in Fig. 4, just in front of the clasp, the clasp however in Fig. 5 being shown in dotted lines in the closed position and in full 35 lines in the open position.

Fig. b is a side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the metallic portion of the form of the clasp shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is an end view of Fig. 6, two positions of the clasp being shown in dotted lines and a third position in full lines.

Referring to the embodiment shown in Figs. 2, 6 and 7 and to its adaptation to the right shoulder of the wearer shown in Fig. 1, 6 represents the loop of material forming the clasp, said loop being held in position between the two strips of adhesive tape 1 and B. The strip 1 is provided with an undercoat of adhesive substance whereby it may be adhered to the strip 8 and the strip 8 is provided with an undercoat of adhesive substance whereby it may be applied to the skin of the wearer.

A covering 9 such as Cellophane paper, is shown applied to the underside of the strip 8, to protect the coating prior to use when the devices are made in large quantities.

When one such device is purchased, the clasp 6 may be reassembled with fresh strips of adhesive kept on hand by the wearer.

The clasp 6 comprises a one piece loop of relatively stiff material, preferably round metal wire, having a specially coiled longitudinally extending portion Ill which is interposed between the strips "I and 8, at their mid-length.

At points adjacent the terminal portions of the coil 10, the metal is bent upwardly to form two upstanding arms II and I2, which are in turn bent inwardly so that the ends thereof finally overlap each other to form a closed loop' l3 which intended to enclose the straps M of the undergarment.

When it is desired to insert the strap within the loop one of the overlapping ends is sprung in a manner indicated by the dotted position 15 in 55 Figs. 2 and 7 and then the strap is inserted within the loop after which, when manually disengaged, said loop will spring back into its normal position thru the torsional action of the coil.

The loop I3 is constructed of ample size to accommodate the insertion of a plurality of straps and thereafterwards may be made to assume an inclined or fiatlike position with relation to the shoulder. Therefore no raised position of the outer garment will be visible after the clasp is applied. The dotted lines in the left hand portion of Fig. 7 indicate the recumbent position of the loop of the applied clasp.

When more freedom or play of the strap is desired, as for instance when no brassiere is worn and only the straps of a slip are desired to be held, I employ in connection with the strips 1 and 8 a ribbon l6 wherewith to encircle the strap.

This departure of the invention is set forth in Fig. 3 of the drawing. However, in this view the ribbon I6 is only fragmentarily shown, it being fully shown in Fig. 1 in the applied position on the left shoulder of the wearer.

It is to be observed in the latter figure that the loop is in connection with a brassire strap and not in engagement with a shoulder strap of a slip. For this reason the ribbon is more closely looped about the strap than if the strap of a slip were shown.

oftentimes the wearer does not care how large a loop the ribbon can provide for enclosing the strap so long as it does not permit the shoulder strap to fall over the shoulder of the wearer. For this reason the straps of repose garments may be given more play which will permit turning and twisting of the body without binding or rupture of the fancy material involved.

In the alternate species shown in Fig. 3 I slit the strip 1 at I I and I 8 and thread the ribbon therethru. This arrangement places less strain on the area of the skin which the adhesive is adhered to.

In Fig. 4 I show still another departure of the invention wherein I use a conventional clasp constructed of a fiat loop of yieldable material I9 as for example celluloid or metal having its base portion 20 held in engagement between the strip 1 and 8 in a manner as set forth with regard to Fig. 2. On the top member 2| of the clasp I secure a flower 22 constructed preferably of silk fabric to make the clasp more chic. The end 23 may be opened to permit the shoulder strap M of the garments to be placed in the clasp.

I claim:

1. A garment clasp comprising a fabric portion and a clasping element made of resilient wire, said wire having a coiled base portion which is attached loosely by a loop formed in said fabric portion and a clasping arm extending from each end of said coiled portion, thus permitting said arms to assume a recumbent position after the clasp has been attached to the part to be held in place thereby.

2. A garment clasp comprising a fabric portion and a clasping element made of resilient H wire, said wire having a coiled base portion which is attached loosely to said fabric portion and a clasping arm extending from each end of said coiled portion, thus permitting said arms to assume a recumbent position after the clasp has been attached to the part to be held in place thereby.

3. In combination with two strips of sheet material having a coating of adhesive on one side thereof, one of said coatings being adapted for securing one of said strips to the other and the other of said coatings being adapted for securing it to the skin of the wearer; of a wire loop having a longitudinally extending spirally coiled portion fastened between the two strips, and having the terminal portions of the wire adjacent said coiled portion bent upwardly and then extended inwardly so as to have their ends overlap each other to form a closed loop for housing a lingerie strap, said overlapping ends being manually separable for inserting said strap between them and the coiled portion of the loop producing a torsional force whereby the ends of the loop are held in a close relation to each other.

SAMUEL C. JOHNSON. 

